Hôtel de Crillon review

In brief

Book nowFirst impression Highly favourable. Staff Those uniforms. Interesting...Bathroom and shower Marble sanctuaries. The bedroom Two words: Lagerfeld. Suite. In a nutshell The most boldly revamped of the recently revamped Parisian vamps.

Set the sceneThe longest-awaited and most closely scrutinised of recent mega-renovations has seen one of Paris’s best-loved palace hotels utterly transformed. Her grand old 18th-century heart is still beating in stately fashion – but it’s the new 21st-century touches of sass and fizz and zing that have got pulses racing. One of the various brilliant decisions taken was to convert the famously grand and rather crusty old restaurant, immediately to the right of the front door, into a bar. And my God it is a lovely sight upon crossing the threshold. Aglow like a huge vault full of gold bullion. Pure theatre.

What's the storyIt is said that Marie Antoinette learned to play the piano here, when it was still a family home, which may or may not be true. Sadly it is a matter of indisputable fact that she was later guillotined directly outside the front door, along with many of her peers and acquaintances.

Advertisement

What can we expect from the bedrooms?You need to be picky. Though there are, of course, no bad rooms, they have not all been created equally. It is not that the biggest are necessarily the best; though, as a matter of fact, in this case, when all is said and done they probably are – the two gargantuan suites by Karl Lagerfeld that overlook the Place de la Concorde are as delightful as any in the city, a love-letter in silk brocade and marble to the pre-Revolutionary past.

Read next

41 of the best holiday cottages in the UK

How about the food and drink?Making your way towards the interior of the building, directly from the bar, that is, suitably refreshed and duly lifted, you should express a similar degree of enthusiasm for the Jardin d’Hiver (a completely brilliant and practical hub – you could conduct your entire life from a sofa here – and wouldn’t that be nice?), L’Ecrin restaurant (somewhat divisive, this one, all sleek and silvery and simple to look at but an absolute around-the-world-in-80-dishes adventure in foodie terms), and the Brasserie d’Aumont (a much more low-key affair that spills out into the central courtyard, which, when the weather is good, is heavenly).

Anything to say about the service?Although pets are not allowed in the spa, they are allowed everywhere else in the hotel, and the concierge can – and I am not making this up – be engaged to create a programme to suit their particular enthusiasms.

Advertisement

What sort of person stays here?To coin a phrase, the tribes they are a-changin’, and that that was one of the reasons for pushing the renovation in the direction they did here – away from the 18th century and into the 21st. The Crillon is a great sentimental favourite among Parisians and has long been an unofficial headquarters of the international fashion crowd; the comprehensive jazzing-up that occurred over the past four years was intended, broadly speaking, to maintain the interest of those groups while also making the hotel relevant to a younger, more diverse clientele.

What's the neighbourhood scene like?If you have a little time and money on your hands, you might conduct an extremely interesting experiment by visiting all of the palace hotels in the neighbourhood that have undergone major renovations in recent times. There are quite a few, including the Ritz, the Plaza Athénée and the Bristol. Renovating much-loved and long-established heritage hotels in a city beset by strict building regulations and an industry beholden to the whims of absentee owners, investors and stakeholders. A piece of cake or enough to give anyone a nervous breakdown? Discuss.

Anything we missed?Gentlemen, if you have not previously had your shoes polished using Cognac, now is your chance. I am not talking about an unfortunate accident in the bar but an appointment for a glaçage at the shoe-care salon next to the barbershop on the ground floor.

Anything you'd change?About 40 per cent of the art on the walls. All that whimsical, ‘irreverent’ contemporary stuff. Just doesn't seem right here.

Is it worth it - why?This is a great among greats that has entered an entirely new phase in its long and glorious history. Not everything about its transformation will please everybody; how could it? But what is best here – let’s say the Karl Lagerfeld suites, the extraordinary Duc de Crillon suite in what used to be the family chapel and the luminous, opulent Jardin d’Hiver – really is utterly marvellous. By Steve King